


cabbage and couture

by ElasticElla



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: Background Kadena, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Past Sutton Brady/Richard Hunter, Post Episode: s01e04 If You Can't Do It With Feeling, Sutton-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 16:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11672409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: Things start going downhill with Richard after Sutton gets the dream job, and Lauren is burning through assistants.





	cabbage and couture

**Author's Note:**

> this all started from an overly long tweet thread that was supposed to avoid the fanfic being written (l o l), if you're curious it's [here](https://twitter.com/elasticel/status/891852004179546112) though spoilers/some stuff changed
> 
> i enjoy drowning in feels over on [tumblr](http://bizeke.tumblr.com/)

“It’s three in the morning, honey he can’t keep you this late. It’s a Tuesday night- hell, a Wednesday morning now.” 

Sutton is tired, bone deep tired. She knows she has to wake up in five hours and she doesn’t want to spend another minute rehashing this same damn argument _again_. Richard was all for her getting the job until he found out how much work it was, how easily she skated through being Lauren’s assistant since she’d been doing it for so long. Everything is new on the fashion side of things, and Sutton knows she’s under-prepared, wants to catch up as quickly as possible. 

“I wanted to stay. Look I need sleep, we can talk in the-”

“No.” 

“No?” Sutton echoes, picking up her bag. “Fine I’ll go home, I’m sure there’s some cabbie-”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. You’ll be called away early and we’ll never talk.” 

“What do you want? An apology? I’m not apologizing for putting my work before you.” 

“Dammit,” he hisses, dragging a hand through his hair. “I just want things to go back to normal.” 

Sutton’s jaw drops, anger burning in her gut. “Normal? You mean when I was the only one not advancing in my career and I had to watch my friends achieving their dreams while stuck on Lauren’s desk? That normal?” 

Richard cups her face, “I mean when we could go on dates and I saw you awake for more than an hour a day.” 

She relaxes at that, blames the lack of sleep for her irritability. “Sorry, yeah I get that. I’m sure once I’m settled in there won’t be so many late nights.” 

It’s a good intention, and they fall asleep mostly at ease for a few hours. But Sutton is always going to put her dream before a boyfriend, and it only takes a few more late nights before they split for good. It probably says something that she’s more worried about Jane and Kat’s reactions than the actual breakup, but Sutton has more important things to do than psychoanalyze herself. 

.

“He did _what_?” Kat yells, and Sutton’s suddenly very grateful she insisted on this conversation happening back at their apartment rather than in the closet. 

“What a jackass,” Jane says. “If you want, I could write a piece about douchebags that don’t respect their girlfriends’ work schedule. Oooh, Jealous of the Job: Men Who Want a 9-5 Girlfriend.”

Sutton rolls her eyes, “That sounds like I’m a sex worker. We’d definitely have a bigger apartment and newer appliances.” 

“Mmm,” Jane agrees, looking around. “It would be nice to have a kitchen more than one person can cook in. But really, how are you feeling?” 

“Do you want us to spread rumors about him?” Kat chimes in. 

“I’m fine, really. I thought it’d hurt more, but I dunno. Maybe it hasn’t hit me yet? Fuck, what if he tells people at the office?” 

Kat snorts, “Yeah, you’ll be okay.” 

Jane bumps Kat’s shoulder, saying, “He obviously cared about you. So I don’t think he’s spiteful enough to try and ruin your career just because you two split up?” 

“I looked up the rules,” Kat says, serious. “He wasn’t your direct supervisor, so you can’t get in any direct trouble.” 

Sutton winces, rubbing her temples. “Oliver will fire me if he finds out. After the FIT thing, I can’t have an office romance come to light.” 

“Who says it will?” Kat immediately says. “Telling him might not do any good.” 

“Or he might respect that you chose to tell him the truth,” Jane says. 

Kat rolls her eyes, “Yeah because what boss doesn’t wanna know who their assistants are screwing?” 

“Ugh,” Sutton groans. 

“Cheer up,” Kat says, “it’s only Saturday. You have an entire weekend to make your decision.”

Jane hands her one of the decorative pillows, and Sutton screams into it until she needs air. 

“Okay,” she says, setting the pillow on her lap. “So, Kat, how are things with the lady love?” 

Kat _glows_ as she begins to gush about Adena, and Sutton knows what she has to do on Monday. 

.

The walk to Oliver’s office is filled with _I could just turn around_ and _really, he might not ever know_ ’s. But then she thinks back to the utter dismissal when he found out about FIT, and if Sutton’s going to get in trouble over the Richard thing, she’d rather have it on her terms. 

Oliver’s working on a board full of turquoise and gold, masks and feathers. She knocks, makes herself speak before he can give her a list of things to do. 

“Morning Oliver, can we talk for a minute?” 

“Come here,” he says, and she goes. “Scarlet is pairing with the Children’s Hospital to do a donation auction in two weeks. We’ll have a dozen models wearing the clothes and mingling with the guests. By Friday I want three complete outfits from you.”

“Okay,” Sutton says, nodding, faint ideas and colors swirling through her head. 

“Jacqueline wants a masquerade theme, our usual supporters love that, but the clothes can’t be _too_ high fashion. They need to be wearable, yes?” 

Sutton smiles, “Yeah, I can do that.” 

Oliver raises an eyebrow, “What did you want to speak about?” 

Sutton swallows, “I um, I just wanted you to know I used to be in a relationship with someone who works here. I’m not anymore, but um, it happened.” 

Oliver blinks, adds a new piece of sheer navy fabric to the wall. “I know. Usually board members don’t recommend fashion assistants, especially with no experience. As long as you don’t date the models, I don’t care. Now I need appointments with these people,” he says, handing her a list. “And I want a new line of shoes for the auction. At least a dozen pairs, preferably two dozen, and they’ll be used exclusively. Find someone who will do that last minute, they can be unknown as long as it’s quality.” 

“Got it, thank you.” 

Sutton leaves with the list, a weight off her shoulders and goes to set up the appointments first. They’re quick enough to schedule and then Sutton’s phone is swamped with calls about the auction. It didn’t seem as big of a deal from Lauren’s desk last year, but from Oliver’s she’d swear they’ve never done such a huge event. She ends up taking a late lunch, eating her sandwich in the kitchen to save time. (Jane would make a comment about eating outside and fresh air, but Oliver’s probably sending her to shops in an hour anyways.)

She’s halfway through her turkey and provolone when Alex joins her. 

“Hey Project Runway,” he says, making a fresh pot of coffee. 

“Don’t curse it!” Sutton exclaims, a grin taking over her face. “Have I told you lately how much I appreciate the info?” 

“Mhmm, and I’ve decided what I want.” 

“Oh? Do tell,” Sutton says. 

“Your firstborn,” Alex deadpans, and Sutton spits her water out, Alex laughing as he hands her a paper towel. “Nah, I’ll take the first tie you get to keep.” 

Sutton shakes her head, drying off the table. “Alright.”

“Seriously though, Lauren’s on a warpath. She’s gone through like nine assistants already, it better be a nice tie.” 

Sutton can’t help but laugh at that, glad her new desk is far away. “I’ll do you one better, I’ll make you a tie out of our leftover material. We’re doing a lot of turquoise this week, you’ll look good in it.” 

Alex grins, “Sweet. I have to go interview, see you around.”

And Sutton’s barely got a goodbye past her last bite before Alex is out again. Checking her phone, she still has ten minutes free. Almost automatically she goes to the fridge to get out the ingredients for Lauren’s green juice. Kale, cucumber, ginger, lemon juice, and a dash of sea salt. It deviates slightly from the recipe Lauren gave her, but she’s pretty sure the woman was joking about interns’ tears. Either way, sea salt is a decent substitute. 

Sutton makes the familiar walk to Lauren’s office, dodging a herd of panicked interns- and one of them might _actually_ be crying. Sutton’s definitely a terrible person for her first thought being if only they’d been in the kitchen a few minutes ago. 

“-I don’t _care_ Michelle!” Her voice goes steely, and Sutton’s never heard Lauren so angry. “You find a way to reschedule those appointments you messed up, or you find a new job. Get out.” 

Her latest assistant hurries over to Sutton’s old desk, and she hesitates. Maybe this wasn’t the best time for a surprise visit-

“Sutton you know I hate hovering, come in,” Lauren calls. 

Honestly, Sutton doesn’t know how she does it- her eyes have been on the computer screen the whole time. She hurries in, green juice extended. “Here, I wasn’t sure if you’d want-”

“I’m going to kill Oliver for taking you away,” Lauren says, grabbing the green juice. 

“Uh,” Sutton says, mind blanking. 

Lauren _smiles_ , “It’s fine. The new one is just incompetent.” 

“I’m sure she’ll learn?” Sutton tries. 

“We’ll see.” Lauren types something before meeting her eyes. “If you feel like making me another green juice one of these days, you could make one for yourself too.” 

Warmth fills her chest, and it’s even better than when Lauren said she respected her. That she was willing to share all of her carefully labeled ingredients that she’d definitely gotten an IT girl fired for touching once. 

“Yeah, I’ll do that. I um, have to get back to work.” 

Lauren nods, “Good to see you Sutton.” 

And Sutton already knows she’ll be making more green juice in her future.

.

She’s finally hitting her groove as a fashion assistant, her days becoming more uniform. Mornings are for setting up appointments, calling in any orders and coordinating with other parts of the magazine. Her lunch break is a decadent forty-five minutes- Oliver _hates_ being interrupted while eating and insisted their lunch breaks match so she can’t go to him with any issue, world ending or not. It regularly leaves her with a few extra minutes to make a pair of green juices for her and Lauren. Sutton made the mistake of saying she liked it the first time- but Lauren was in a bad mood, and god, she’s such a sucker who learned nothing from lying to Oliver apparently. Afternoons are for errands all over the city, and evenings are for designing her outfits for the auction.

By mistake she finds out from Anna that there are only two spots open for assistants’ creations, and her designs will be going up against all the veteran assistants. Not that she thought it’d be easy to get her designs in, but she thought it’d be like last time and she just needed to impress Oliver. Now it’s more than anyone else and her nights take on a manic spin, her designs have to be beyond perfect. 

They aren’t. 

Kat laughs at the pantsuit before realizing it was her design, and Jane wasn’t able to fully conceal her wince at the gold wrap dress. (It’s tacky, she can see that now but she needed to see that five hours ago.) Kat’s the one that recognizes her problem, perched on the edge of her desk late Thursday night. 

“Dude, you’re trying too hard for perfection. Just make three designs you like and then improve them as much as you can.” 

Sutton sighs, “There’s no way I’ll win.”

Kat shrugs, “That sucks, but you already got the job. You’ll have other opportunities to get your designs out there.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Sutton says, flipping to a blank page of her sketchbook. 

Kat hops off her desk, “Then my work here is done young padawan.” 

“Mhmm, go have fun at Adena’s.” 

Kat grins wide, “You know, maybe that’s what you need- a good orgasm or five.” 

“Good- _bye_ Kat.” 

Kat leaves with a snicker and Sutton flips back to the first three designs she sketched when Oliver told her. She dismissed them all as too simple and not ground-breaking enough, but they’re better than what she has. And maybe with a few alterations they won’t be quite so standard. 

The pantsuit gets totally remade, the dress added to, and she creates a crop top and long skirt combo that’s probably her favorite. It feels more vacation than masquerade- golden crop top and loose turquoise skirt lined with bits of shell. The pantsuit comes out sleek, a shimmery turquoise shirt, and the suit itself is black with thick gold lining. The golden dress gets layers of turquoise and white gauze, and a few suggestive cutouts by the hips and lower back.

It’s not her absolute best work, but she’s still proud of it. Tomorrow morning she’ll do a few touch ups and bring it to Oliver. Sutton checks her watch, and fuck it’s already two. She briefly contemplates sleeping in the closet- but that couch was damn uncomfy- and gathering her bag, heads to the kitchen instead. She’s going to need some coffee to avoid falling asleep on the way home. 

Sutton’s surprised to see the light’s already on, even more surprised to see someone making a pot of coffee. 

“Damn you ancient junk, _work_.” 

Or trying to at least. 

“Hey Lauren.” 

Lauren jumps, turning around, “Holy- warn a girl.” 

Sutton smiles, blames the hour for being amused instead of frightened. “Here, I’ll make it.” 

Lauren sits down as she preps the coffee pot and starts it up. “I’m not sure why but sometimes it just needs to be unplugged and replugged in.” 

“Huh,” Lauren says, yawning. 

“What are you doing here so late? Don’t tell me Michelle didn’t work out?” 

She laughs, “Board member’s birthday party. God knows why he invited the execs, but we all ended up at that Indian place near here.” 

Sutton’s eyes light up, and the words come out without permission, “Ohmygod you’re drunk.”

Lauren narrows her gaze into a stern expression before losing it, an easy smile on her lips. “Yeah. Coffee’s for my walk home.” 

“Me too,” she says, “I mean for walking home not- I was just working late.” 

Lauren chuckles, “I bet. I heard all you younglings are trying to get a piece into the auction.” 

“Yeah,” Sutton agrees, pouring the coffee into two paper cups. Mindlessly she adds her own french vanilla creamer and Lauren’s soy milk.

“Mmm, thank you. Show me your designs.” 

“Now?” Sutton asks. 

“It’s on the way out, besides I want to see what you abandoned me for.” 

“Lauren I didn’t mean-”

“I kid,” she interrupts gently, “But I would like to see.” 

“Yeah okay,” Sutton says, and they head to her new desk. The three outfits are hanging on her chair, and Lauren thumbs through them with a small smile. 

Lauren stops at the skirt and top, “I like this one best. It makes me want to go to the Caribbean.”

“Thanks,” Sutton says, and they head over to the elevators. 

“How long have you wanted to be on the fashion side?” Lauren asks. 

The elevator dings, and Sutton follows her in. “Um, the whole time. It just seemed like such an unobtainable dream and too risky.”

Lauren laughs shallowly, “That’s because it is for most. But you’re talented Sutton, you’ll make it.” 

Her whole body feels like it’s tingling and swooping, and Sutton doesn’t know how much to blame on Lauren or the coffee or the elevator. “Thank you.” 

Lauren’s lips twitch, “Mhmm, I need to get home before you forget what a terrifying boss I once was.” 

Sutton laughs, and Lauren fake groans. “See?” 

Sutton grins as the elevator doors slide open, “I swear I won’t tell the others.” 

“You better not,” Lauren says and they cross the empty hall, heels clicking on the floor. Sutton isn’t sure if it’s an awkward silence or not, but she doesn’t wanna say anything awkward now. Only ten more feet of quiet, and then they’re outside in the brisk early, early morning air. 

“Well I’m to the left, good night Sutton.” 

“I thought you were right?” Sutton says by mistake, internally groaning at herself. “I mean you had me deliver the leftover flowers once and um…”

Lauren’s expression doesn’t change, and Sutton bites her lip. “I moved to a new apartment last week.” 

“Oh,” Sutton says, feeling like a moron. “Good night Lauren.” 

They part ways at that and Sutton keeps replaying the moment over and over as she walks home. At least, she remembers, giddy, Lauren thinks she’s talented. Like Sutton knows she is, but Lauren thinks so too. And when she focuses on that she can forget all about that last awkward moment. 

.

Friday morning comes easy even if Sutton is running more off adrenaline and caffeine than sleep. Her brain kept replaying Lauren’s praise and imaging what life might be like if she actually does make it. Eventually she fell into a real dreamland, late enough that this morning took a cup of coffee before she was even out the door. 

Jane of course decided this morning would be the first time she’d notice something different about Sutton. (She loves Jane, she does. But well, Jane can be a little overly self-centered on the best of days.) 

“You got laid at the office! Are you and Hunter back together?” 

“No!” Sutton quickly says before Jane’s theory can spiral out of proportion. “I just finished my designs and had a good conversation with Lauren.” 

Jane raises an eyebrow, “A conversation?” 

“Mmm, it’s this crazy thing people do sometimes-”

“With _Lauren_?” 

“Why are you saying it like that? She’s not my boss anymore so it isn’t weird.” 

“Uh huh,” Jane drawls out. “It’s okay if you’re into her, after all she isn’t your boss anymore.” 

Sutton rolls her eyes, “I’ll keep that in mind the next time we have unprotected communiques.”

Jane fake gasps, and they head into the office, Jane telling her about a toy Pinstripe brought over. It sounds really hot and if her imagination goes to her and Lauren, it’s only because Jane put that idea there. And if it’s a hot idea, it’s probably only because she’s been socialized to believe that girls making out is hot and Lauren is objectively gorgeous. It’s not like she’s actually a lesbian- she had really great sex with Richard. And she hadn’t even been tempted to help Jane get that kegel egg thing out of her vag, had been glad Kat was willing to do it. And if she _was_ gay, wouldn’t she be like really jealous of Kat and Adena or something? It’s silly, she likes men, there’s no need to split hairs. 

Sutton puts the finishing touches on her outfits and brings them to Oliver. He puts the pantsuit and dress on the rack with the others, handing the set back to her. 

“Add white scalloped lace around the shirt’s bottom and it’s done.”

“Will do,” Sutton says, taking it back to the work area. It’s done right before lunch- Oliver’s line even busier than normal with the approaching auction. He isn’t in his office, so Sutton leaves the outfit on an empty rack, the other one no longer there. 

Sutton eats her blue-cheese salad alone, Fridays tend to be the worst for finding lunch partners. This Friday Alex and Jane are away on assignments, and Kat is speaking on a panel about fighting cyber bullying. She finishes fifteen minutes early, making a pair of green juices. On the off chance Lauren was still hung over, Sutton was sure she’d want one- and she wanted to show her that things weren’t different just because Lauren acted more human last night. 

Sutton finds her at her desk, red rimmed eyes and typing away. She looks up before she can knock, eyes going to the beverages. 

“I love you,” Lauren says, and Sutton’s heart trips over itself. (It’s just because it’s been so long since she’s heard it, it’s not-. She’s being silly, Lauren doesn’t even mean it like that.)

Sutton hands the juice over, sitting down. “I thought you’d want one after last night.” 

“Yeah,” Lauren says, typing one last sentence before sipping. “Mmm, this is perfect.” 

Sutton gulps down her own, quickly to try and not taste it. It’s healthy, she reminds herself, green juice is healthy.

“Any fun weekend plans?” Lauren asks, fingers back on the keyboard. 

“A bunch of us are going to the fireworks over the bridge event. You?” 

“That’ll be good,” she says nonchalantly. “The professor that took over a few years back, Ken- he has quite the appreciation of explosions. Unfortunately I’ll be unpacking all weekend.” 

Sutton’s eyes go wide, “The whole time? You can’t get away for an evening?” 

“That I could,” Lauren says, fingers briefly pausing. “My family’s visiting next week, my apartment’s no where near ready.” 

“The week of the auction?” Sutton asks, “Yikes.” 

“Mhmm, apparently my job’s always busy so what difference does it make.” 

Sutton winces, “Sorry, if there’s anything-”

“Ah-ah,” Lauren interrupts her. “That’s how you got in trouble last time.” 

Sutton flushes, “Yeah. Well, I hope things go well.” 

“Thank you Sutton. Now I believe you’re supposed to be in conference room two for the designs pick.”

“Right, thanks,” she says, quickly heading out. Usually she’s so good with time too, dammit. 

She sneaks into the conference room, and luck has it that there’s another girl behind her that gets all the flak for being late. Jacqueline goes through all of the pieces, spends a second more on her dress than the pantsuit. Neither are picked, but Sutton’s looking for her crop top and skirt. She isn’t seeing it and doesn’t know why Oliver would have her redo it and then not have it in the room. Unless- maybe she was too late? Ugh, that’s not how she wanted to lose. 

Everyone’s rushing out as it’s over, reconstituting the fabric of the unchosen pieces and Oliver pulls her aside. 

“I’m needed in photography, you should come.” 

Sutton follows, unsure why she gets to go or what she’s supposed to get out of it precisely. 

“We’re doing a commercial shoot for the other half of Jenny’s line.” 

“She said yes?” Sutton says, excited. “She was my first choice.” 

Oliver raises an eyebrow, “I know. We’re running two full page ads in next month’s print.” 

“Cool,” Sutton says, and she supposes her being here makes a tiny bit more sense. 

Oliver looks at his watch as the elevator stops, “And the shoot should be ready now.” 

They walk into a room Sutton’s never seen before, all dramatic lighting and different shades of silk hanging from the ceiling. The models are each twined around a sheet or two, and Sutton can’t help an _eep_ when she sees the centerpiece. 

There’s a model wearing her outfit, two streams of navy silk supporting her, and white platform pumps on display. 

“You can go now,” Oliver says blandly, but there’s a hint of a smile on his face. “I’m sure there’s more work upstairs.” 

“Thank you so much,” Sutton says, floating back upstairs. Her design is going to be in the magazine, the _printed_ magazine. 

Alone in the elevator, Sutton lets out a happy scream and dances. 

.

The rest of the week is more normal, if extraordinarily busy. She’s able to get a lunch with Alex and Jane, and a few breakfasts with Kat, but otherwise Oliver has her working on all cylinders for the auction. She finishes the scrap material tie for Alex, a fishtail weave of gold, turquoise, and white that he says he’s saving for the auction. Jacqueline changes her mind about one of the outfits, and they’re in emergency mode trying to replace it in time. They finish late Thursday night, and Sutton isn’t even a little tired, is way too pumped to go home just yet. There’s a nice quiet when the office is empty like this, feels like one of those old black and white movies. 

Sutton spots a light on, can’t help but be drawn to it knowing it’s coming from Lauren’s office.

“You’re here late,” Sutton teases before she really sees the scene, a bottle of vodka on her desk. She freezes, blood draining from her face, “I mean, um I can just go?” 

Lauren shakes her head, “Come in. Come on, you’ve seen worse in this office and I’m off the clock.” 

Sutton does, sitting in her usual seat. Lauren pours her a glass before she can decide if it’s a good idea, and dammit she should celebrate a little. 

“Work or family?” Sutton asks. 

Lauren slides a glass over and drinks deeply from her own. “I’m the oldest of four children, my baby sister just got engaged. Ha, that’s why everyone flew in. And mother just loves reminding me how old I’m getting and how very single I am.” 

“Shit,” Sutton mutters, clinking her glass against hers. “Sorry that sucks.” 

Lauren shakes a hand at her, “I can’t go back there right now. They’ll be all you’re working too hard and this is why no one loves you.” 

Sutton swallows more, throat burning with instant bravery, “I’m here as long as you wanna stay.” 

“You’re sweet,” she says, and Sutton’s stomach flips happily. “So why are you drinking this fine Friday morning?” 

Sutton opens up the proof Oliver emailed her on her phone, handing it over. “It’s running in next month’s Scarlet.” 

“Congratulations, that’s wonderful,” Lauren says, refilling their glasses. “I assume the ad is for shoes or sheets?” 

Sutton laughs, “Shoes, it’s the little designer two streets down, J’s.” 

“To you,” Lauren says, and they drink, the vodka smoother now. “I’m glad the change is working for you, it isn’t always an easy transition.” 

Sutton swallows down thoughts of the first two weeks, asks instead, “Oh yeah? What was yours?” 

“A secret,” Lauren says. “So don’t go telling your friends.” 

“Cross my heart,” Sutton says, leaning forward. 

“I used to work at the Economist,” Lauren confesses. 

“No,” Sutton gasps. “You were an editor there?” 

She shakes her head, sipping some more. “Writer, I hated it. Stuck it out for half a year to spite my brother and moved to Scarlet.” 

Sutton laughs into her hands, “What? How was that even spiting your brother if you weren’t happy?”

Lauren smiles wryly, “Well I wasn’t as smart back then. We both wanted the job and I got it. Things got a little nasty between us when we were competing for it, and when I won he said I’d never stick with it.” Lauren pauses, finishing off her glass, “Turns out he was right.” 

“What a dick,” Sutton says, slapping a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, oh god I’m sorry I didn’t mean that.” 

Lauren shrugs, “It’s water under the bridge, he went into sales. Your turn.”

“Huh?”

Lauren raises an eyebrow, “To overshare about your personal life of course.” 

Sutton means to say something about her family back home and leaving them all for the city, and the stress of one day maybe having to return and the emergency envelope she finally spent. That she’s sure she’s just one dental emergency or one bad week away from a train ride home. That she’ll never call the city home, never feel permanent.

Instead she finds herself saying, “I was fucking someone on the magazine’s business side and I was terrified of screwing up when I was trying to get the fashion assistant position.”

Lauren doesn’t look surprised though, she looks _pitying_ and oh god it’s somehow so much worse than disappointment or disgust. “Honey, Hunter runs through assistants and models, it was an open secret.”

“Fuck,” Sutton mutters into her glass, finishing it. “So why don’t you have a love life? Spite again?”

Lauren laughs, runs a hand through her hair. “I haven’t found a girl willing to put up with my work schedule, much less one that won’t be traumatized by my family. Hell, you’re probably the closest thing I had to a proper relationship in the past three years.”

“Well, we have to fix that,” Sutton says, the solution suddenly obvious. Leaning the rest of the way across the table, Sutton kisses her, and Lauren kisses _back_. They both taste like mid-shelf vodka with faint hints of coffee, and it’s probably the least sexy taste ever but Sutton doesn’t care because _holy shit she’s making out with Lauren_. 

Sutton still has enough brainpower to know they can’t stay here, and they can’t go back to Lauren’s. And Jane- 

Sutton breaks the kiss, standing, “My roommate’s at her boyfriend’s. My place?” 

“After you.” 

They splurge on a cab because Lauren hates the subway and Sutton knows it’d ruin their bubble anyways. Sutton doesn’t remember most of the trip, they’re in the back and making out and then they’re suddenly _there_ and Sutton’s throwing hopefully the proper amount of money into the front seat. 

Lauren kisses and nips her the entire way to the door, traveling between her neck and jawline. It’s distracting as hell, and if her mind was focused she’d probably be embarrassed about how long it takes to get the damn key in properly. But then they’re in the apartment, and in Sutton’s room, and it’s the clumsiest, most beautiful sex Sutton has ever had. 

.

Sutton wakes up to the scent of coffee, opens her eyes to see Lauren dressed in last night’s clothes and handing her a mug. Waking up like this, she could become an actual morning person.

“You’re always bringing me drinks,” she says.

“Thanks,” Sutton says, patting beside her. “You wanna come back? Or do you have to go in early?”

Lauren sighs, “Look Sutton, I’m sorry. It was a mistake to start anything drunk and I should have known better.” 

Sutton’s eyebrows rise, “I’m pretty sure I started it. We can restart sober though, dinner tonight?” 

Lauren lets out a disbelieving laugh, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

Sutton sits up sharply at that, “I know _you_. I know what I’d be getting into and I want to.” 

“And how do I know I’m not just some boss fantasy you have? How can you say there’s definitely more to it when the last person you were with was Hunter? I’m not gonna be your ad-sales.” 

And that, that fucking hurts but Sutton doesn’t have an answer. 

Lauren squeezes her eyes shut, “Look I have to go. Just figure yourself out before you come to me, okay?”

“Yeah.” 

Lauren leaves, and Sutton sips her coffee. It’s perfectly made with just the right amount of french vanilla creamer, and Sutton can barely swallow it, choking up as tears slip down her cheeks. 

She sets it on the table and grabs her hangover sunglasses, large and dark enough to hide her eyes. They’ll work, and Sutton gets ready for the day, tries to psych herself into being excited about the auction. 

It works of course, she really _is_ excited about the auction. She’s just also really sad about Lauren leaving and her words maybe being true, and she didn’t know she could feel so depressed and thrilled at the same time. It’s exhausting and it’s not even nine o’clock yet. 

Kat and Jane corner her during her first break, and she’s definitely been too out of it if she didn’t sense a closet intervention happening to her. 

“Okay, what gives?” Kat asks. 

“I had sex with Lauren last night.” 

Jane squeals, but Kat’s a little more hesitant, “That’s a good thing right?” 

Sutton sighs, “Up until she said I was probably only into her because she used to be my boss. And it’s not like my track record helps here between Richard and her being the first woman I’ve ever been into.” 

“Is it true?” Jane asks. 

Sutton takes off the sunglasses, rubbing her face. “I don’t know. That’s the worst part, how can I not know?” 

“Hey,” Kat says softly, “we’ll figure this out. We’ll all stay in the closet until we get to the bottom of this.” 

Sutton wets her lips, tries for a normal tone, “Pretty sure you already busted out of the closet.” 

Kat grins and Jane says, “Ey, she jokes! She’s alive!” 

Sutton smiles weakly, feeling better already. “How um, how did you know with Adena?” 

Kat goes all star-eyed like she’s been doing lately, “When I hadn’t seen Adena in a while and I saw her again. Like I knew how awesome she was, and in that moment I just wanted her however she’d have me.” 

“That’s beautiful,” Sutton says. 

“Not helpful though,” Jane says. Kat shoots her a look and she holds her hands up. “What? It isn’t. We already know Sutton wants to bang Lauren again.” 

“You do?” Kat asks. 

“Oh yeah. If drunk sex was fun, sober would be mind blowing.” 

Jane winces, “You guys were drunk?” 

“Just a few glasses-of-vodka,” Sutton mutters. 

“I got it!” Kat exclaims. “Are you into Jacqueline?” 

“What? No, what the hell-?”

“Oliver?” Kat asks. 

“No, isn’t he gay anyways?” 

“Pretty sure,” Jane says. 

“So it’s probably not a boss thing- wait. When did you start being into her?” Kat says. 

Sutton fiddles with the sunglasses, “I dunno. Sometime before last night and after she hired Michelle.”

“And what do you fantasize about?” Kat asks. 

“Woah, way too much detail,” Jane cuts in. 

Sutton remembers thinking about the toy Jane told her about, and there’s no way her roommate wants to hear that. “Just regular stuff at my place. Or on the beach. Dressing her in my clothes, undressing her-”

“Yup, okay, we’re good. Definitely not a boss thing, next point,” Jane says. 

Sutton smiles, “How are you gonna be a sex writer if you shy away from this stuff?”

“Nice try, politics and fashion my friend,” Jane answers.

“Great timing,” Kat says, checking her phone. “We have ten minutes to get downstairs, the auction's starting.” 

“That’s why it was so quiet up here,” Jane realizes. 

“You guys are the best, I don’t think I would have put this all together.” 

“Oh sure you would have,” Jane says. 

Kat smirks, finishing, “It just would have taken a few weeks and Lauren would have been a very angry executive editor.” 

They all change into their gowns, and Sutton says she has one last thing to get, for them to go down without her. Jane and Kat do, with knowing smiles that Sutton’s too happy to be annoyed at. The kitchen’s empty and she makes a green juice, pouring it into a martini glass. She keeps her arm steady as she brings it downstairs, wishing a hundred times she’d just gone for a less aesthetically pleasing glass that wouldn’t be on the edge of spilling at every shift in her weight.

By some miracle it doesn’t, and Sutton surveys the floor before going out to avoid large groups. She spots her friends easily, Jane and Alex dancing in the center wildly, nearly knocking into a few couples, and Kat and Adena doing a much slower waltz. She spots the tie she made with a grin, it really does look good on him. Only the models are wearing masks, and a few of them dance as the rest mingle with potential bidders. And then she sees Lauren sitting by the peacock ice sculpture, thankfully away from the crowds. She’s even more gorgeous than usual in black and gold, and her fingers itch to create something for her.

Sutton makes her way over with a few close calls, but the drink remains intact as she sits next to her. 

“It’s sea salt,” Sutton starts. “I added it to your recipe, that’s why mine always tastes different.” 

Lauren takes the offered glass, and a slow sip. Her dark purple lipstick is dramatic against the glass, and Sutton wants to kiss it away, to be marked by her. 

“I recognize the salt now,” Lauren says. “I wouldn’t have guessed it.” 

“You’re not ad-sales, you’re fashion,” Sutton says and Lauren blinks slowly. “I like men and women, and hah, I think I finally know why around puberty I became super interested in fashion. I’m mixing this up- I like _you_. I don’t like the idea of fucking my boss, it actually stresses me the hell out. I don’t even like your green juice, it’s so bitter and kale-y. But I liked that you wanted to share your stuff with me, and I like the idea of an us. What do you think?”

“You wasted my kale,” Lauren says with a straight face, frowning. 

“My god, I will buy you an entire tree of kale. Or whatever it grows on,” she says. 

“It’s a cabbage,” Lauren says, shoulders shaking as she bites her lip. 

“A cabbage? I drank cabbage for you, semi-regularly. I can’t possibly prove my devotion any deeper than that.” 

Lauren laughs, and Sutton grins, butterflies swarming within her. She leans forward, not all the way, not at a work event before she knows where they stand. But Lauren meets her lips, tastes like green juice, and Sutton can stay used to kale for her. 

Lauren stands up, holding a hand out, “Dance with me.” 

And Sutton does, too happy for words.


End file.
